raw material

American  

noun

1. material before being processed or manufactured into a final form.

---

raw material British  

noun

1. material on which a particular manufacturing process is carried out

2. a person or thing regarded as suitable for some particular purpose

   raw material for the army

---

Etymology

Origin of raw material

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Reputedly, he destroyed hundreds of his own negatives, and the celluloid was melted down -- and some of it used as raw material to make soldiers' boots during World War I.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

Plastic makers in Asia and Europe curbed their own output when Persian Gulf crude oil, the raw material they rely upon, became inaccessible.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

“We think that raw material issues are likely to cause some earnings growth uncertainties,” Zekauskas wrote in a note to clients.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

Fuel and raw material shortages, chronic underinvestment and nationalisations have hollowed out the local economy.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

The factory farms take the raw material, corn, and turn it into another product—meat.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan